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alexisbee15's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Toxic friendship, Grief, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Domestic abuse, and Classism
lauraloveslemons's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Classism, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexual content, Physical abuse, Drug use, Grief, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, and Blood
jlblumenfeld's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
luluellis33's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Classism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
kitfkat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Body shaming, Violence, Domestic abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
redefiningrachel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Classism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Death, Violence, Vomit, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny
Minor: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy
lindsey_holmes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexism, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
filipa_maia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I felt sorry for Marianne a couple of times. Her family is completely broken and she gets nothing from them. Her entire childhood was a mess, her time in school was a living hell... I get it. But when she gets older, when she became and adult, there is no excuse anymore. She replaced her childhood trauma for current trauma by dating a bunch of weird guys and having very wild sex. Just go get some help! Connell is just annoying since the beginning of the story and until the last page. That is one toxic relationship that should have stayed in high school.
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Dysphoria, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Bullying, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Rape, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Death
phantomeyer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Perhaps easiest to first discuss is the writing style. While you could argue that the lack of punctuated dialogue contributed to the impression that each scene wasn’t so much a distinct event as a one of many moments in time, it seemed a lazy method to achieve this goal. Punctuate the sentences properly, and it would have been more obvious just how mundane some of the descriptions were. Not that mundane is necessarily bad, but it doesn’t sit well with me that this stylistic choice could be sufficient to turn mediocre writing into “good” writing. I will admit, however, Rooney does make good word choices, which at times lead to rather evocative passages.
Next, the characters. I’ve seen complaints that the secondary characters aren’t fleshed out, but honestly I couldn’t care less. This book is about two people, and it makes sense to me that others seem unimportant in comparison. But let’s talk about these two characters. I don’t think they are unrealistic, but their arc felt rushed or disjointed at various points. Marianne all of a sudden fits in at college despite an incredibly isolating youth? Connell is intensely discomforted at the idea of dominating through violence, but gives away his former misgivings about psychological dominance without any reflection shared with the reader? It felt like Rooney was missing opportunities to explore interesting themes that would have added more depth to the book. Furthermore, skips such as these meant I was unable to maintain empathy consistently throughout the novel, and Marianne and Connell are not easy people to read about to begin with. You can’t afford to lose a reader’s empathy when your main characters’ struggles (to communicate, to make good decisions for themselves) become irritating without it.
This leads me to my thoughts about the plot. As a general rule, I enjoy character-driven plot, but I was tired of the constant back and forth by the end. A correction: I was tired of it a quarter of the way in. Their relationship felt largely repetitive, and the change in dynamic in the final act was not explored enough. If I had cared more about the characters, the ending might have been poignant, but as it was, I was just happy to be free of joyless characters and a book that had not quite reached its potential.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Suicide, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Misogyny
Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Self harm
tamaraepps's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Classism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexism, Death, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse